The Daily Mail reports that David Latimer fashioned this terrarium out of a " ten gallon carboy, or globular bottle, which once con...

Monday, November 25, 2013

Poinsettia in Any Color from Weidner's Gardens

Endless poinsettia

This past weekend I was lucky to tour the greenhouses of poinsettia that the lovely folks at Weidner's Gardens have been raising for this holiday season. Talk about a spectacular display. In addition to learning about the process Weidner's uses to mix their own soil (sphagnum moss by the pallet!) and moderate temperatures in their green houses (simply open the vents and let the cool pacific breezes lower the temps!) we got a sneak peak at some of the newest varieties of poinsettia.

In addition to the brilliant red, lovely white, and peppermint-marbled poinsettia, Weidner's has a crop of more modern varieties. Gone are the days of the limited poinsettia color palette, nowadays there is a poinsettia to match nearly any holiday color scheme.

How to Get Poinsettia to Bloom for Christmas

I also learned a handy tip if your are keeping your poinsettia over for the next year: if you want blooms by Christmas you'll need to force it into 12 hours of darkness a day in the month prior. You can place a box over the plant or put it in a closet - but the 12 hours is required to get blooms by December. If you live in a part of the country that gets 12 hours of night in October and November, you should be in the clear.

Ecke Ranch is the largest purveyor of these speciality poinsettia varieties - check out their site if you'd like to learn more.

"Tapestry" - a true red flower (take my word for it, the colors are off in this photo)
with gorgeous yellow and cool green variegated leaves.

"Carousel" - a ruffled bloom in a rich burgundy red.

"Renaissance Winter Rose" - the winter rose part seemed to imply the curled red leaves that form a more "rose" shaped poinsettia. Note the long stems - this poinsettia is intended to be a cut flower and can last up to 10 days in a vase.